The present invention relates to an indicator system for alerting the driver of a motor vehicle and also alerting external observers, such as law enforcement officers, whether at least the driver and certain occupants of the vehicle have their seat belts fastened.
Seat belts are required by law to be installed in all modern automobiles for the safety of the occupants. Since many people are hesitant or resistant to wearing seat belts, many automobiles were provided with audible warning signal devices which sound until the driver's seat belt is fastened. Since many car owners disconnected such devices rather than using their seat belts, more recent automobiles are now provided with a temporary audible warning signal circuit which reminds a driver to fasten the seat belt but which silences after a few seconds time, whether or not the driver complies.
In view of the mounting evidence that seat belts do protect occupants against more severe injuries in serious automobile accidents, most states have enacted laws mandating the wearing of seat belts by at least the occupants of the front seat of an automobile. Failure to comply subjects the driver to a fine for self and any minor occupants of the vehicle. Other occupants are subject to a fine for their own noncompliance.
Also, it is advantageous to the liability of the driver that all occupants are properly secured by their seat belts because the driver is responsible for their safety. An injured occupant can seek recovery from the driver for injuries sustained in an accident, and the costs involved increase with the severity of the injuries.
For the foregoing reasons, it is advantageous for the driver of an automobile to know that each of the occupants is securely belted in place before moving the vehicle. Generally, a reasonably prudent driver will merely request compliance and will assume that all occupants have fastened their seat belts. However, such may not be the case.
Moreover, it is advantageous for law enforcement officers to be able to observe from outside the vehicle whether the driver and other front seat occupants of the vehicle are wearing their seat belts. Currently, it is impossible, particularly in the case of lap belts, to see from a distance whether such belts are fastened. Even if a vehicle is stopped by an officer, the occupants can fasten their seat belts before the officer can approach the vehicle and visually inspect the positions of the seat belts.
It has been proposed to furnish automobiles with a variety of systems which detect the weight of an occupant in a particular seat and, in the case of unfastened seat belts, to provide an audible, visual or ignition-lock signal for the protection of the driver and occupants. Some proposed systems, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,556, even provide rear external display lights which are illuminated by the driver and extinguished by the fastening of the seat belts by the occupants. Any illuminated light is visible to an officer and indicates an infraction unless the driver has erroneously illuminated lights for unoccupied seat positions within the vehicle.
While the proposed systems have merit in accomplishing the desired results, they generally are impractical, expensive, subject to breakdown and/or require the operator to perform certain manual steps rather than being automatic. In the system of U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,556 for example, the driver must actuate six switches, one for each of the occupied positions in the vehicle, including his own, and also actuate a totalizer switch which provides a visible internal and external indication of the number of occupants. If the driver forgets to actuate the occupants switches, the system is inoperative since no interior of exterior lights become illuminates, and the vehicle appears to be in compliance with the law to an officer viewing the exterior of the vehicle.